Printmaking

Like paper dolls from the latter days of Mad Men, altered by a presence of physical graffiti, the monotypes with chine collé in Colleen M. Kelly's disarming series Naked Under Her Clothes are subversive and subtle, sexy but not sexual, traditional and unconventional, subliminal and right there on the surface.

As many creatives embrace new technology to enhance or supersede mediums that are centuries old, others continue to find inspiration in the tactility of pencil on paper, oil on canvas -- or in the case of Ellen Weider, the technique of drypoint.

Pricing art is always tricky, especially for new artists who don't have a track record. Once you have had the chance to sell your work in a number of contrasting venues, you'll develop a stronger awareness of what's appropriate.

Historians of art attempt to tell the story of our past by studying the cultural remnants left behind. It is usually impossible to recover a complete, irrefutable picture of what happened -- facts and stories lost with the passage of time are difficult to retrieve, requiring painstaking research in archives or slow, careful excavation.

Successfully balancing a full-time job, kids and your art is all about various forms of sacrifice. This balance is a work in progress. I allocate my time and concentration so that each pursuit essentially takes turns being compromised.

In order for cost and supply to keep up with the demand artists often use cheap and accessible materials such plywood, particleboard and Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). What these products don't tell you are the makeup of MDF board is toxic.

The discussion this day though was what had happened following the storm. There was talk of the difficulties faced in doing business and troubles with cell phone coverage; but mostly about the damage the storm had done to "art."

I'd like to take a page, pun intended, from the Slow Movement and suggest "Slow Information," the ongoing inheritance of the 15th C. technology of Gutenberg. It's still going on, and not just at Colonial Williamsburg.